Recently, I had a call with a prospective client who had reached out to our firm. He told me that four years ago, after being laid off, he started a baking company that created themed cookies for special events. When I asked his goal, he shared that he was about to open a storefront and just needed some “bookkeeping and accounting help.” 

My Spidey sense immediately went off, and I proceeded to ask him additional questions about his business to gain greater clarity of the situation:

• Had he secured an SBA loan to finance it?  No, he told me he applied for it but was turned down. Instead, he elected to use hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money.
• Did he know his cost to make cookies? He proudly told me he could make a dozen for $1.50 and charge $16.00, but went silent when I asked if he had accounted for his own time and not just the ingredients in his analysis.
• What was his annual revenue last year, and what was the cost of the new lease? As it turns out, there was a $6,000 deficit that he didn’t seem concerned about.
• Did he have his sales tax set up already? No, he confessed.
• And finally, had he hired a business coach to advise him and look over his plan to protect him and his business? Crickets.

After our exchange, it became evident that he had made a classic business owner mistake: assuming he knows what he needs to achieve what he wants.

I want to share an easy way to avoid making a costly error that can derail your business: 

the “Want/Need/Can” method.

First, let’s define each component:

Want

The “want” is what you want to achieve. Said another way, it’s your goal. But be careful to identify your ultimate goal and not just a short-term desire.

Need

The “need” is what you need to do or have to bring your business goal to fruition. This is where many business owners go astray, letting their egos or naivety get in the way of investing in the proper tools they need to fuel their want. Even if they have an excellent product or service, they often lack the operational or financial acumen to maximize profitability.

Can

The “can” refers to the feasibility and alignment of the want and need—can you do it? (Or can you hire someone else to do it?) Is it practical? Does it fulfill your want?

When you can articulate your “want” and “need,” you can then use the “can” as a final test to see if you really want to achieve your original goal…or if you might need to rethink it or what you truly need to get there. 

For instance, in my earlier example, the business owner said what he wanted was to open up a storefront, and what he said he needed were bookkeeping and accounting. However, if he had used the “Want/Need/Can” method, he would have quickly discovered that his stated need would not enable his goal, and he’d need to rethink his actions.

The truth is that most business owners don’t know what they don’t know and rarely take the time to ask themselves critical questions relevant to their business—they’re too busy trying to make a sale or deliver their products or services. And when people decide to start or grow their businesses, they make assumptions about what they need to do it successfully. This is a dangerous place to be, and it could end up costing them their businesses.

Instead, the best course of action is to seek out the counsel of a business coach who will do a holistic analysis to deliver advice customized to your situation, taking into account things you may have overlooked or have little knowledge of. Consider, too, that working with a specialist will take the burden off you to know it all, freeing you up to focus on what you do best. This will ultimately save you heartache, headaches, time, and money, ensuring your success. 

Remember, if you ultimately want a profitable and scalable business, you need to be open to learning about the best path to get there; fortunately, you can invest in yourself and your future success by enlisting the help of an experienced and professional business coach.